The Frog Monster

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Robert. He was very adventurous for a twelve-year-old and loved to explore. His parents always warned him not to roam far because "there were lots of bad things that could happen", they always said.

One afternoon, Robert wanted to go fishing. His little sister, Violet, was hanging on to the bottom of his leg and begging to go with him. "No, Violet! Not today!", exclaimed Robert. "But puleeze, Bubba!", she begged. He didn't want her tagging along today.

"Hey, Violet! Will you go and get my sweater off of my bed?", he asked, hoping to distract her enough so he could slip out of the house alone. His plan worked.

He quickly ran across the backyard to the shed and grabbed his fishing pole and tackle box, then headed to the river. He knew that the big fish were farther down the river. He knew he shouldn't, but he decided to take the boat out alone. He eased the boat away from the dock and started steering it down the river. He loved to be out on the peaceful water.

Up ahead in the water, he saw a strange sight; the water was swirling, churning. He got a sinking feeling in his stomach. The water looked the way the hurricanes did from the satellites that they showed on the Weather Channel. Except this was right here in front of him, and no matter how hard he tried to steer the boat away, it was too late.

Quickly, the boat was sucked deep down into the river, spiraling out of control. Then, just as fast as he had gone under, he came back up, and all was calm. Oddly, his clothes were still dry too. What was going on here? He was so tense.

"Where am I?", he mumbled. Nothing was familiar at all. Scanning the terrain around him, he felt a deep since of dread. All Robert could see was dead, black trees, black water and a gray, cloudy sky. No other colors of any kind.

He floated over to the bank and slowly got out of the boat. "Hello??", he yelled. No one answered. He was so afraid, but he knew that he had to stay focused, so he went back to the boat to see what supplies were stashed in the storage compartment.

To his amazement, there was a small tent and two cans of Spaghetti-O's. Not super appetizing to him, but he knew it would have to do. After pitching the tent, he went back to the boat to see what else he could scrounge up. A lighter. A dirty, plastic fork. A bottle of water that had been there who knows how long. And a small flashlight.

At least he would have a shelter and a full belly tonight. But with all that he had found, the thing that gave him the most comfort, was the flashlight. He hated the dark.

That night, he ate his cold Spaghetti-O's by the campfire and sipped his water. He knew he would have to ration the water. There was no way he could consume the vile, black water from the creek. He had heard of people drinking river or pond water, and they ended up with intestinal parasites. No thank you!

Sleep finally came, but not for long. Movement outside the tent startled him. He peeked out the tear in the fabric of the tent. He froze. Standing right before his eyes stood a giant frog monster. It was taller than his dad, which was very tall to Robert. It had green, scaly flesh and big bugged out eyes. Every now and again, he saw the long slimy tongue flick out as if trying to catch a fly. Gulp! Now what? He prepared for the worst. Robert had never been brave, but he knew that he had to bold in order to survive this.

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU CREEP!!!", he screamed. The monster turned and started to inch it's way closer to the broken down, holey tent. Robert held his breath waiting for the inevitable. Just when he thought he was a goner, the giant amphibian retreated away from the camp and into the tree line. He couldn't tell where it ran off to. But he didn't care. It was gone. He wrapped his arms around his body and laid back down, curled into a ball. He knew that sleep would not find him tonight.

In the morning, after a long and chilly, sleepless night, he peaked out. No monsters in sight. He very slowly crawled out of the tent. He was horrified to see giant frog footprints surrounding the camp.

After drinking more than he probably should have of his water, and eating another can of the unappetizing pasta, he decided to cautiously explore the surroundings. He grabbed a large, sturdy stick and walked towards the woods. Of course, he knew that he would be no match for the large monster, even with his butt-whooping stick, but it gave him a tiny ounce of comfort, so he gripped it tightly. Robert followed the footprints into the woods where he found a well-worn path. It led him farther into the dark woods.

After what felt like an eternity, he came to a clearing. His heart pounded in his chest. A cabin. Who did it belong to? He knew he had to find out. He slowly walked up to the cabin, following the prints, and knocked on the door. He heard movement in the cabin. Someone, or SOMETHING, was inside. He heard the sound of the wooden doorknob being turned and quickly took a step backwards, careful not to trip on the roots peeking out from beneath the soggy, dank soil.

Standing at the doorway was an old man. "Can I help you?", asked the gentleman. "Umm... Yes... I... Um... My name is Robert Allen and last night I camped on the bank of the river. I saw a monster outside my tent. This morning, I found frog footprints, and they led straight to your door!", he said so fast that he quickly lost his breath. The man stood there for a few, agonizing seconds, "I think you should come in, and I'll explain everything to you.", stated the man. The boy was very hesitant but knew he needed some answers.

Walking through the front door, a familiar odor filled his nose. He froze. It was the same stagnant, swampy smell he smelled last night. THE FROG! Robert panicked. He looked around, but he didn't see any indication that there was anything like that in the house, other than the footprints leading directly here. But he tried to put that dreaded thought out of his mind.

The man pulled out a chair at the small table in the cozy kitchen. He offered Robert some fresh, clean water and he happily accepted. "So, about this incident last night", began the old man who said his name was Wilbert Hamilton. "I know that that was terrifying to you and I sincerely apologize. I was not trying to scare you. I just haven't seen another human around these parts since I got stranded here myself twenty years ago." "Wait! What? You mean that was you??", questioned Robert. "Indeed, it was!", stated Wilbert. "You see, twenty years ago, I was going down the same river you were and got swept up in a whirlpool. Yes, siree. It swallowed me right up and I've been stranded here all this time." Robert couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's exactly what happened to me!!!" Robert explained that he had been fishing and saw the whirlpool and he couldn't escape no matter how hard he tried to steer away. The man nodded his head as if remembering the day he disappeared into the murky water. He shuddered.

"Well, you didn't explain why you were actually a real-life frog monster. How did that happen??", Robert asked, with a look of horror in his eyes. Wilbert then proceeded to tell the story of the spell that caused him to turn into the hideous creature on every full moon.

"The spell was cast by an ugly, evil witch. She lives in a black castle up on the hill. When I was exploring after I got trapped here, I came across the castle and was curious, so I was spying from the bushes. She saw me from an upstairs window and sent her wolf down to seize me. Then, after keeping me locked in the dungeon for 5 days, she cast the spell on me and told me that if I was going to creep around where I didn't belong, she would teach me a lesson. So that's how I became the frog monster." Robert could see the disgust and sadness etched all over Wilbert's face.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?", asked Robert, angrily. Wilbert sighed. He wasn't sure if he should tell Robert that he actually did know what had to be done because it was very dangerous and maybe even impossible. But he had so much sympathy for the boy and knew that there was a family waiting at home for him, just as there had been for himself, too. For a brief moment, he remembered his wife and young son. What had become of them all these years? Surely, they thought he was dead. Or worse, that he had abandoned them. He shook his head and forced those heartbreaking thoughts from his mind. Dwelling on that wouldn't do him, or Robert, any good. He proceeded to tell Robert the arduous tasks that would have to be completed in order for them to escape this rotten, hell on earth.

Later that afternoon, after a quick lunch made from a strange and usual tasting fish and black herb sprigs, they headed out through the eerie woods. Robert had chills up and down his arms, and the back of his neck. He wasn't sure if it was from the temperature, or the daunting task before him. He wasn't sure if he could handle potentially coming face to face with a real-life witch. Thought of The Wizard of Oz and the wicked witch of the west flashed before his eyes. He shuddered more. He knew that Wilbert said she had a wolf man as her minion, but could there possibly be flying monkeys, too? He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to the question.

A million thoughts swirled in his mind. Terrifying thoughts. But none greater than the thought that he may never see his family and his little sister again. He was extra grateful that Violet hadn't tagged along. He couldn't bear the thought of his precious, innocent sister being captured by a vile witch. This thought gave him the initiative to be able to continue with the trek and the mission.

Robert was lost in his thoughts, when all of a sudden, Wilbert grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "we're here!" Robert was intently scanning his surroundings for any sign that the witch or other demonic creatures was nearby. No sign of them yet. The man led the boy to a row of bushes covered in berries that he was unable to identify, just within sight of the castle. Then, he pulled out small glass vials from his coat pocket. He reached into his other pocket and retrieved a small, wooden bowl that was carved out of the black trunks of the ominous trees that surrounded the area. Wilbert instructed Robert on how to collect the berries from the gray, fuzzy looking bushes. "What kind of berries are these?', asked the boy, nervously. "These berries are called Gooju berries", exclaimed Wilbert. "Gooju berries?", asked Robert. "What a weird name!"

After they picked a few large hand-full of the strange berries, Robert asked Wilbert how he knew that these berries had the power to destroy the witch. "When she had me locked in the dungeon, I overheard her tell her wolfman pet that they were so powerful and that the only weakness to their evilness lied right outside the premises of their fortress." He told Robert how the witch decided to build her palace within line of sight of the bushes in order to guard them. "So, she could be watching us right now, or her evil goons even?" "Yes, I'm afraid so. Which is why we don't have any time to waste.", said Wilbert with a sense of urgency.

After they had smashed up the berries and drizzled the juice into the vials, Wilbert motioned for Robert to follow him. Robert wasn't sure how he even kept his feet moving, because he was so scared and his mind felt like it had a million thoughts swirling around. He could barely think straight. But he continued, bravely moving forward with the old man.

Within a few minutes, they had reached the edge of the castle. At this point, Robert was so ready to get this done that he almost ran up to the steps. Wilbert grabbed his arm and told him that they had to proceed with extreme caution. So, as quietly and swift as they could without being detected, they made their way up the steps to the looming castle.

Once they reached the top, they looked up, and for a moment, gazed emotionless at the massive door. They felt in their soul, the terrifying thought, that the door was a metaphor for the task that they were trying to complete. Would they be able to survive? Would she capture them before they even had a chance to hatch their plan? Within a matter of seconds, they would find out.

Wilbert grabbed the wrought iron loop that was the knocker and proceeded to rap several hard knocks on the door. In a moment, they heard very light steps approaching from within. Wilbert removed the vials from his pocket. This was it. Now or never.

The door slowly creaked open and standing before them was the wolf. He didn't look like Robert had imagined. He was dressed in a black cloak, not a werewolf like he envisioned. In an instant, Wilbert popped the mini cork off of the vials and splashed the juice all over the head and torso of the powerful animal. They saw him melting right before their eyes. Yep, Wizard of Oz, thought Robert. They stepped over the black cloak piled on the floor that was now the only remains of the wolf.

Once inside the foyer, they heard a shrill laugh come from the top of the grand staircase. This was the scariest thing that could possibly happen in his entire life, and he wasn't sure he was man enough for it.

Wilbert sensed the hesitation and fear written all over Robert's young face, and this gave him more drive and determination to defeat the evil sorcerer. Wilbert stepped forward, and with the power and authority of a man that was ready to die for the cause, yelled at the witch. "I have come to demand that you allow us to return to our homes and break this curse you placed on me all those years ago!" The witch threw her head back and laughed. Robert thought that it sounded like the call of a wild animal, maybe a mountain lion and a coyote mixed together.

Wilbert was just trying to draw the demon down the stairs so that they had a chance to bring her to her demise. Surprisingly, she fell into their trap. She couldn't resist the urge to confront the man that was being so bold as to come to her castle and demand anything, much less freedom.

"I will never release you from the curse!", she laughed. And in that moment, Wilbert released the glass tube that he had been holding so tightly in his palm. He threw it all over her face. For a moment, all was silent.

It had worked! The witch was melting right before their eyes. They were free at last.

Wilbert and Robert raced out of the castle and ran towards the river. After climbing in the boat, they began to head back down the direction they had come from. Within a few minutes, they both saw the familiar sight that had thrust them into this disastrous situation. They glanced at each other and then gripped their edges of their seats for dear life.

The dark waters consumed them. And just as it had before, spit them out, instantly, at home. It was their river. The one that they both knew so well. They were so relieved.

Once they reached the dock that belonged to Robert's family, Wilbert cut the engine off. Robert hopped out of the boat and told the man to take the boat and go find his family. Wilbert tipped his head to the boy and took off. Robert eagerly walked up the hill to his family's farmhouse and rushed in the door. When his family saw him emerge through the doorway, they leapt up and wrapped their arms around him, crying so hard with relief.

His family demanded to know where he had been. And who the man driving their boat was. Robert explained all about Wilbert Hamilton and his parents stood, mouth agape, in shock. They remembered when he disappeared twenty years ago. Robert wasn't sure they believed his story, and he didn't care. He was home and he was safe. THE END